Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 13

Near the end of the first half, Aston Villa had 60% possession, but they had fewer shots, 7 to 11.

The number of shots on target was even more lopsided, 1 to 7.

And the score decisively reflected this: 0-2.

Helena, sitting next to Aston Villa’s owner, Nassef Sawiris, could practically hear him grinding his teeth as his team was being brutally beaten by Burnley, a team considered a top candidate for relegation.

“I’m sorry, Miss Cartwright. I have some urgent business to attend to…”

Muttering an apology to Helena, Nassef Sawiris, visibly agitated, left his seat after the first half ended.

As Aston Villa’s CEO, Christian Purslow, and Football Director, Johan Lange, couldn’t leave the guest’s seat empty, they moved to sit next to Helena, their expressions grim.

Helena wore an apologetic expression, but inside, she was thrilled. She still didn’t quite understand the intricacies of the game (and frankly, the field wasn’t very visible from the box), but she happily sipped her wine.

On the field, her Burnley, under Kim’s calm and collected command, effortlessly neutralized Aston Villa’s attacks throughout the second half.

As the 90 minutes of the second half concluded and extra time was announced, the stadium announcer’s gloomy voice echoing through Aston Villa’s home stadium, Villa Park, sounded like an angel’s song to her ears.

“Goal! It’s a goal! Burnley’s Chris Wood scores in the 93rd minute of the second half. The score is 0-3. 0-3.”

***

‘Well… I spoke with such confidence back then,’ Hyungmin thought.

“It’s not possible. There’s absolutely no money for player transfers.”

It was the morning of August 30th, just two days before the summer transfer window closed on August 31st. An emergency board meeting had been called at Hyungmin’s request. He had been officially appointed as manager the day before, following the decisive 3-0 victory against Aston Villa.

Upon hearing the request for player support, Helena refused immediately, prompting Hyungmin to plead his case again.

“We can’t continue like this, Helena. You know this too. Before the season started, Matej Vydra, Ben Gibson, Aaron Lennon, and Phil Bardsley were all transferred out, leaving only 21 players registered in the first team. Among them, there are 3 goalkeepers, and Dale Stephens is out with a long-term injury, effectively sidelining him for the year. That leaves only 17 outfield players. We don’t even have enough players to fill the bench right now.”

Helena frowned and asked, “What about promoting players from the reserve or youth teams?”

“Let’s forget about the youth team for now. If any of them were ready for the first team, they would have already been promoted to the reserve team. The only reserve team players who might be ready for the first team are Richard Nartey, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, and Jacob Bedeau, but all three are out on loan. Bailey is even a goalkeeper, so he’s not an immediate solution.”

“Can’t we terminate the loans?”

John Vanaskiewicz, who had become Helena’s guide in the unfamiliar world of football, answered on Hyungmin’s behalf. “It’s not possible under the current contracts.”

Helena sighed and once again mentally directed her resentment towards her father (and evil boss) before returning to the immediate problem.

“Kim… as you know, we don’t have much money right now. ALK Capital signed Max Cornet, Nathan Collins, and Connor Roberts before leaving, and they took all the remaining funds to repay debts. We barely managed to secure enough funds to operate this year; there’s really no money for transfers.”

Hyungmin, who had been present when Helena begged and obtained funds from the Cartwright Fund, couldn’t bring himself to ask her to get more funds.

However, it was nearly impossible to get through a season with the current first-team players.

After hesitating, Hyungmin finally brought out his prepared Plan B.

“Um… then how about this?”

“What is it?” Helena made it clear she wanted to end the conversation and return to her other work, but she was listening because he was the newly appointed manager. Hyungmin carefully began to speak. “We’re trying to improve our constitution this time, right?”

“More like rebuilding, but yes, that’s right.”

“Then, instead of just acquiring young players and selling them at a high price, how about we loan them out to showcase their talent?”

“…?” Helena’s gaze snapped back from her laptop to him. Hyungmin desperately began to persuade her of his plan, using gestures to emphasize his points.

“There are many promising young players at every club, but to fully realize their potential, they need to gain practical experience. Their value increases when they play regularly. While their original teams want to give them opportunities, competition for places is fierce.”

“So?”

“We loan players from top clubs who have very high potential, practically at the first-team level, but can’t break into the first team right away due to the competition. We guarantee them playing time at Burnley, and in return, their original team covers the cost.”

“I can’t allow Burnley to become a satellite club.”

Mike Garlick, who was listening from the side, intervened and objected, but Hyungmin shook his head. “We’re not becoming a satellite club. We decide who to loan and whether to send them back. If possible, we’ll also include a full transfer clause so we can fully acquire them if we have the means. We’re not just ending with a loan. It would be a shame if we developed them and someone else reaped the rewards.”

While Mike Garlick and John Vanaskiewicz exchanged glances, Helena raised her hand slightly.

“Sorry, but what is a satellite club?”

“A satellite club is a club that has a formal agreement with a larger, wealthier team, where they receive players on loan. It’s similar to a AAA or AA team in baseball’s minor league system,” Hyungmin explained.

Helena tilted her head. “AAA team? AA team? What are those?”

At Helena’s question, Mike Garlick, John Vanaskiewicz, and even Hyungmin exchanged glances, momentarily speechless.

“Ahem… it’s when a smaller club borrows players from a big club, and the big club puts its reserve players in games to develop them or increase their value for sale,” Arthur, who had decided to take on the role of head coach as Hyungmin was appointed manager, answered in place of the three who were speechless.

“I see. It’s the same as when a small bank borrows short-term funds from a big bank when it’s short on funds. But if it’s Major League, are you talking about baseball? I wish you would just stick to one sport. It’s already hard enough studying soccer [football].”

Ignoring Hyungmin’s muttered aside, ‘I didn’t know she was American and didn’t know anything about baseball,’ Helena continued. “We can take out a loan if it’s at a repayable level, and players can be returned when the loan ends, right? It sounds like a good idea, so I don’t know what the problem is.”

“Satellite clubs don’t pay fees, but they can’t choose which players come or go. If it’s not a satellite club, you usually have to pay a loan fee to the club to loan a good player,” Mike Garlick explained.

“How much does it cost?”

“Well, it depends on the player… to loan a player who can play in the Premier League, you may have to pay anywhere from a minimum of £250,000 to a maximum of £1 million per month. Of course, we have to cover their weekly wages as well.”

“Hmm…” Helena quickly started running the numbers in her head. “The season is from August to May, so let’s say 10 months. It’s not like we’re getting ownership; we’re just borrowing them, but £2.5 million to £10 million per year? That’s unsustainable. Rejected.”

At Helena’s immediate rejection, Hyungmin clung to her again. “We’re not paying a loan fee! Rather, we can make the other club pay their wages.”

“No, how are you going to do that?” John Vanaskiewicz asked, and Hyungmin replied, “Instead, we’ll guarantee playing time, and if the guarantee is broken, we’ll proceed with a contract that imposes a strong penalty. For example, if a player’s loan fee is originally £250,000 per month, we’ll say that we’ll compensate £500,000 per month for the months when the playing time guarantee isn’t met.”

“Hmm… is that high risk, high reward?” Helena muttered, but Hyungmin and John Vanaskiewicz were excited and quickly exchanging words.

“Would any club agree to such a contract?” John asked.

“If it’s more important for the player to play than the money, and if they’re certain that the player’s value will increase, they will definitely agree. It won’t be just anyone, but if we look hard enough, we can find one or two such players, and then we can bring in players for free.”

“But what if the loaned player fails to adapt or suffers a long-term injury and can’t play for more than a month?” Mike Garlick asked, and Hyungmin replied as if he had already considered it. “We can include a clause that allows us to terminate the loan contract at any time. We’ll also include a mutual termination clause so they can terminate the loan if they’re not performing well.”

While the three board members were processing Hyungmin’s proposal, Hyungmin pressed his advantage. “This way, we can acquire first-team resources without immediate cash expenditure. The loaned player gets valuable playing time, and the player’s original club can increase the player’s value. Wouldn’t it be a win-win for everyone? And if they’re truly outstanding, we can fully acquire the proven player by paying a pre-agreed transfer fee when we have the financial means.”

“Hmm…” While Hyungmin anxiously waited, Helena turned her head slightly to gauge the opinions of Mike Garlick and John Vanaskiewicz without a word, then looked back at Hyungmin.

“Okay. It might be possible under those conditions.”

“But we can only bring in two players on loan from other clubs in the UK,” John Vanaskiewicz pointed out worriedly.

“So, we have to bring them in not only from the UK but also from overseas.”

“Where are you going to find such players in such a short time?”

“Ah, don’t worry about that.” Hyungmin, having secured the directors’ permission, smiled brightly and asserted, “I know a very good business partner.”